2012 (July 21) Tahoe Rim Trail 100

Just before arriving at the Red House aid station the uphill starts. Interestingly I felt better on those uphills here on my 2nd loop than on my first.

"Why so serious!" There was actually a clown at that aid station and I asked a volunteer to take a pic of me and him. Unfortunately, she didn't press the button deep enough and she never took that picture.

Robert Keeffe on his way down to the Red House loop. He's running the 50K and will finish in 16:13:51.

The trail markings on this race was outstanding. One little comment: that small yellow piece is supposed to reflect when shined upon with a flashlight at night. For some reason some of them really reflected very well and some did not at all.

At 10:39, 5 hours and 39 minutes into my race, I arrive at the Bull Wheel aid station approximately 25 miles into the race. That's a 13:36 minute-a-mile pace, which is pretty decent considering we've covered a lot of elevation changes so far.

This is on about 8,500 feet so the views are fantastic. From here there is no aid stations for the next 9 miles, which is the longest part without any aid. It's basically a 4 miles rolling trail and then a 5 mile downhill into the Diamond Peak resort.

After 55 minutes, or 4 miles later, I arrive at the turn which guides me off the Tahoe Rim trail onto the Incline Creek trail. It's a 5 mile 2,000 feet downhill from here which will take me 1 hour and 6 minutes.

My good friend Thomas is arriving at the Diamond Peak resort aid station exactly 10 minutes prior me and still looking really happy.

At 12:41PM Saturday afternoon I arrive at the 30 mile aid station. My wife Linda is here with my kids Sophie, Alexis and Emma. They only can see me here, at mile 50 and mile 80 but I'll be at 80 miles late night so they won't be here. BTW, notice that I am wearing a running fuel belt.

My wife is a rock star! Remember I was wearing a running fuel belt before? Now I am wearing a spanking brand-new Nathan hydration bladder. What has happened is that I packed the night before the race and couldn't find my hydration bladder. So my wife drove 31 miles on Saturday morning to Reno to REI to buy me a new one. Then she drove back to this aid station to give it to me. This was a real life-saver. I don't like to wear a fuel belt for races longer than 50K since they give me a lower-back pain. Linda totally and once more saved me!!

I spend about 20 minutes at mile 30 re-powdering my feet, eating, and drinking. Ahead of me would be a very exposed trail and it's getting a big warm. So I am wearing a bandana around my neck filled with ice which cools me down. I got that bandana from my good friend Dan Marinsik and it's homemade. Pretty cool stuff and super useful!

Now this was the section I was really looking for. It's a 1.7 feet just under 2 miles climb up the ski run on a dirt service road. It took me 1 hour and 2 minutes to climb that beast and we were SLOW! Luckily Wendell Doman was shuffling this uphill too so we talked a bit and I learned that he finished the brutal Hardrock 100 miler 4 (!) times. This man got my respect!

Half way up I strapped the bandana around my head to cool myself down, which worked pretty good. But from a stylish standpoint I think I would not pass any judges :)

An appropriate sign for the right location: The top of that beast of a climb! I got there at 1:57PM Saturday afternoon.

A quick look back of where I came from.

50 minutes later I arrive back at the Tunnel Creek aid station for the 2nd time now 35.3 miles into the race. Currently I'm 2 hours ahead of the cut-off time. I'm now on my feet for 9 hours and 48 minutes and "only" 15 miles to the half way point (50 miles) which will take me 4 hours and 12 minutes. That's a slow 16:48 minute-a-mile pace.

The Tahoe Rim Trail is a 165-mile (266 km) long-distance hiking trail which forms a loop around Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada and Carson ranges of California and Nevada in the United States.

Coming back to the Hobard aid station we run along the glimpse of heaven again looking down on Marlette Lake.

Less than a mile to the Hobart aid station 40.3 miles into the race. I very much look forward to their smoothy!

I had the pleasure of running a few miles with Jeremy Day. This is his 4th 100 mile finish. Before this he finished Cactus Rose in 2011, Rocky Raccoon in 2012, and Badger Mountain Challenge also in 2012.

Making a turn at mile 40 going up to the Snow Valley Peak aid station for 3 miles and a bit over 1,000 feet. On her 2nd loop, at mile 56 and coming towards me, is Sofia Cantilo. She would finish in 28:19:18 earning the beautiful sub-30 hour belt buckle.

Running parts of the Tahoe Rim Trail makes me want to run the whole 165 mile rim trail one day.

On my way up to the highest point of this race to truly catch a glimpse of heaven. I just crossed the 12 hours mark being on the race for 12 hours and 19 minutes now.

As higher I get as more breathtaking the views are getting. In my opinion those 3 miles going up to Snow Valley is the most beautiful part of this race.

Almost to the top. Just a little over 1 mile to the aid station.

Absolutely stunning. I can't get enough.

A glorious view over Lake Tahoe. Looking at the size of this lake I can't believe I ran around it in Fall 2011 - twice - 144 miles.

Marlette Lake and Lake Tahoe.

It took me 55 minutes for this 3 mile climb to the Snow Valley Peak aid station which is the highest point on this course with 9,214 feet.

After Snow Valley Peak I ran 5.4 miles all downhill to this small aid station. Only 1.7 miles to the 50 mile half-way point.

Finally back at the Spooner lake. Only have to run a bit along the lake.

And that's it! 50 miles done. Took me 14 hours and 30 minutes which is a 17:24 minute-a-mile pace. This guy with the yellow singlet is Jose San Gabriel. He'll be my safety runner for the next 50 miles. He also finished the famous Western States 100 just less than 1 months ago.

Coming into 50 still happy and in a good mood.

First things first. Clean my feet and re-tape if necessary. Those tapes are helping me prevent blisters and I also use baby powder to keep my feet try.

One thing I almost always do is to brush my teeth at mile 50. Being out there for 12+ hours drinking a lot of sugary soda and eating lots of stuff including GUs takes it's toll on my fresh breath :). Also brushing my teeth makes me feel refreshed and always gives me new energy for the next 50 miles.

Jose is ready to Rock'N'Roll! This guy is awesome. He finished this 100 miler 2 years back and he know everybody there. I mean EVERYBODY!

And there she is. Always taking so good care of me while I'm out there. Since I will be at mile 80 early in the morning I won't see her until I finish about 17 hours later.

I spent some time at this aid station, about 30 minutes, but it was worth it. I felt good coming in but needed to take care of my feet. Now, going out, I feel great and I'm ready do run the whole 50 miles again. But this time I know what I'm in for :) It's exactly 8PM Saturday night now.

After 3.5 hours of restless forward motion I arrive at the Tunnel Creek aid station for the 4th time. By now it's dark and I'll have to do the Red House loop again. I didn't change shoes this time but was lucky because the creeks were filled with more water but was still able to navigate through them without getting wet feet. It's now 11:35PM Saturday night.

Fast forward 8 hours. It's now 6:29 AM Sunday morning and I'm on that beast of a 2 mile climb again. This time there's no heat but I'm pretty tired being on mile 81. It takes me exactly the same time to get on top; 1 hour 2 minutes.

Jose was looking forward to this climb. This is his 5th time doing this climb since he's ran this race a couple of times before.

I was super happy to be on top of that beast of a climb. Now there's a short downhill to the Bull Wheels aid station. It's now 6:55AM Sunday morning and the last time I was here (50 miles ago) was just about 15 hours ago.

Beautiful sigh of wild life.

Speechless.

Best. Picture. Ever!

Back to the Snow Valley aid station. I'm on mile 93 now. It's now 11:18 AM Sunday morning and I've been on my feet running/walking for the past 30 hours and 16 minutes. On Sunday it was much hotter than on Saturday and with great pleasure I found out that they served ice-cream there. That was awesome and truly hit the spot! It's now a 5.3 mile downhill and a 1.7 flat run to the finish.

I walked the whole downhill in a comfortable 20 minute-a-mile speed and now I'm on the last leg of this race; the flat 1.7 miles to the finish. I had so much fun on this race but now I can't wait to reach the finish line.

While power walking along Spooner Lake I look across and see the finish line. It looks far on this picture but it's actually less than a mile away.